Abstract
Work passion is a critical driver of employee wellbeing, engagement, and performance; however, organisations often struggle to cultivate it effectively. Understanding what fosters work passion is essential because it not only deepens insight into employee motivation but also enables organisations to enhance passion and its positive outcomes. Despite growing interest, research has primarily focused on individual traits, leaving the role of organisational and leadership factors under-explored. To bridge this gap, we extend the Employee Work Passion Appraisal (EWPA) framework by examining how inclusive leadership and meaningful work influence employees’ work passion and whether the psychological authenticity climate mediates these relationships. Using a two-wave, time-lagged survey of 385 full-time Australian employees, our findings reveal that inclusive leadership indirectly fosters work passion by creating a psychological authenticity climate in which employees feel safe to express their true selves. Meaningful work also emerges as a strong predictor of work passion, underscoring its role in shaping positive work experience. By integrating self-determination theory with leadership and contextual factors, this study advances the theoretical understanding of work passion formation and offers practical insights for organisations seeking to build inclusive, meaningful, and authentic workplaces that spark passion. JEL Code: M12.
Keywords
inclusive leadership, meaningful work, psychological authenticity climate, self-determination theory, work passion
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
ISSN
03128962
Publication Title
Australian Journal of Management
Publisher
Sage
School
Centre for People, Place and Planet / Mental Awarness Respect and Safety (MARS) Centre / School of Business and Law
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Shafaei, A., & Nejati, M. (2026). Leading with purpose: Uncovering the impact of inclusive leadership and meaningful work on work passion. Australian Journal of Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/03128962261447132